When will tourists from more US destinations be allowed?

One of the main connection points between Costa Rica and the United States is the state of Florida. However, that state is still outside the authorized allowed for American tourists to enter Costa Rica.

The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rica’s Tourism Board – has progressively authorized the arrival of US residents. which for October 1, totals 21 destinations.

But Florida is not. Nor is Texas. Why not?

Gustavo Segura, Minister of Tourism and  President of the ICT, explained that to decide on reopening, they take into account numerous factors of the pandemic reality caused by COVID-19 for each destination.

He added that it is irresponsible to give dates and zones about future authorizations.

For example, as of September 25, the state of Florida registered 695,887 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 13,915 deaths associated to the virus.

Yet, California’s confirmed cases and deaths is higher, 804,177 and 15,539, respectively, yet is a state that the Minister on Thursday reconfirmed is authorized starting October 1.

According to Rt.live, Florida’s Effective Reproduction Rate · Rt, the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person, is 0.96; California’s Rt is 0.94.

Both are lower than Costa Rica’s 1.05.  If the Rt is above 1.0, COVID-19 will spread quickly.

“We are very clear about the importance of the US as the main originating market and it also has a particularity: it is a union of 50 states that, for the most part, are country-sized. The analysis is very constant. The pandemic situation there evolves very quickly, for better or for worse (…) It is not responsible to give dates, nor is it responsible to give certainties. The analysis is constant and has to do with factors that we do not control,” Segura explained.

“The markets of origin are experiencing their own pandemic reality and need to regain the confidence to travel,” the minister added.

The United States is the primary market for visitors to Costa Rica. Last year, in 2019, a total of 3.14 million tourists visited Costa Rica, an increase of around 4.1% in comparison to 2018, with more than half (53%) of international arrivals by air from the United States.

According to the ICT, U.S. tourists, in 2019, on average stayed in the country for 12.6 nights.

Currently, residents of New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Rhode Island, California, and Ohio (the latter two as of October 1) and District of Columbia (DC) are authorized to enter Costa Rica.

American tourists to enter Costa Rica must reside in out of the foregoing states, arriving on commercial or private flights, with their driver’s license or State ID that certifies them as residents of the authorized state.

Costa Rica is also allowing stopovers or transfers through non-authorized US states or countries. For example, a resident of New York can fly to Costa Rica by way of Miami, as long as they do not leave the airport.

A commercial flight is one that transports foreign tourists and should not be confused with repatriation (or humanitarian) flights that have taken place during the course of the COVID-19 health emergency.

The repatriation flights, carried out by different airlines to or from different destinations, allowed Costa Ricans to return to the country or for foreigners who were in Costa Rica to return to their places of origin. There are even Costa Ricans who have been able to leave the country for the US in this type of transfer.

U.S. tourist requirements to enter Costa Rica by air or sea:

• Complete the digital form called Health Pass.
• Must come from any of the authorized countries or US states.
• Must provide a state driver’s license or State ID that certifies them as residents of the authorized state.
• Must demonstrate that they have national or international travel insurance that covers accommodation and medical expenses generated by the COVID-19 disease. In the event that group insurance (family group) is presented, the coverage must be sufficient to cover the accommodation and medical expenses generated by the COVID-19 disease to each of the persons covered.
• Must present a document that proves that a COVID-19 RT-PCR test had been carried out within 72 hours prior to the departure of the flight to Costa Rica, with a negative result. This document must be submitted in Spanish or English.

From QCostaRica

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What’s Required To Defeat Trumpian Evil

I have a selfish reason for writing this column. The thought of another four years of the orange face with dead noises emanating from it fills me with existential dread. Since I predicted Trump would win both the Republican nomination and the presidency, I’ve earned the voice to say what’s needed to get rid of the scoundrel.

Some pundit fools say the way to defeat Trump is to mock him. Sure, Mussolini was a joke…until he wasn’t. Humor keeps the decent sane; it doesn’t stop the indecent from perpetrating their insanity upon us.

The first and most urgent thing for decent people (and I don’t just mean Democrats, but Republican citizens who still have an auricle beating in their chests) to do is to disabuse themselves of the idea that Trump has been an anomaly, and that, in Biden’s words, “This isn’t who we are.”

Continuing to believe that illusion will ensure that this slow-motion diabolical drift into tyranny will continue into 2021 and beyond.

‘Autocratic’ is too nice word for Trump. A boss can be an autocratic sob, but still be good at his job. A tyrant however, which is what Trump aspires to be (aspirationally kissing Putin’s and Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s asses) is what the Donald intends to be, inciting his mob to shout “12 more years” at his zombie rallies.

Michelle Goldberg hits the nail on the head: “Trump is an aspiring fascist who would burn democracy to the ground to salve his diseased ego.”

She then exhibits the fatal flaw of Democrats and rationalists however. “A rushed Supreme Court confirmation is unlikely to help Trump electorally, because in polls a majority of Americans say the winner of the election should make the appointment.

The idea that “a majority of Americans,” as measured by scientifically based polls, matter at this point is ludicrous. Has the commentariat learned nothing from 2016?

Apparently not, for Goldberg doubles down. “Much attention is paid to Trump’s fanatical supporters, but far more people hate him than love him,” she says.

For God’s sake, this isn’t a referendum on how many people love Trump vs. how many people hate him, but whether the American people as a whole see this malignancy in the body politic for what it is and cut it out.

Just as it doesn’t take a ‘majority’ of cells in the body to produce a malignancy, it only required enough of them in the body politic to produce the cancer of Trumpism. That turned out to be about 44%.

I’m not saying that decent Americans need to irradiate the sick cells in the body politic. After all, Democrats are also infected by the same malignancy of the psyche and soul that produced the Covid and chaos-loving Trump.

Roger Cohen comes closest in the MSM to telling the truth and conveying the real and present danger of Trumpian tyranny. He quotes a friend and fellow naturalized American: 

“I am baffled. I am shattered. I question my entire belief system, my trust in America, my darling adoptive country: Was I too naïve? Too idealistic? Too young? Too stupid? The hardest part for me to understand is not the one lunatic, not the one certifiably, wickedly twisted mind, but all of his enablers, all of his supporters. Who are they? How are so many of them even possible?”

That is the question. Having been a voice in the wilderness addressing it long before Trump was elected (not by fluke but by fait accompli, since the underlying cause was ignored and denied), I don’t take any pleasure or pride in having predicted that Trump would win the presidency and that things would come to this.  

Once again then, before it is too late, here is my diagnosis and prescription for eradicating this cancer.

Every person and every people have an essential intactness from their birth as a person or a people. Call it essence, or soul, or simply indivisible wholeness. We can commit many mistakes and do many wrongs, but if we lose this ineffable quality, we are dead as people.

Once that happens, as it did nearly 30 years ago in America, the only way to regain our soul is to fully acknowledge and mourn its loss, and want its recovery more than our lives themselves.

Therefore the truth goes beyond Trump’s minions and millions of supporters. Our essential intactness as a people was lost during the first Bush Administration, and we ran on the fumes of triumphalism over the USSR through the rest of the decade, until 9.11 brought it all literally crashing down.

Even then nationalism and militarism, rather than an intelligent response to global terrorism, carried the day for another 15 years, through the Obama interregnum.

In short, leave out the spiritual dimension, as Christian evangelical supporters of Trump have most ironically and calculatingly done, and the metaphysical evil of Trumpism “will be a continuation.”

If just 50 Americans take this truth to heart, Trump will be defeated. But even if 50 million Americans march in the streets without minding the heart of the people within themselves, Trump may well win another term and consolidate despotism in America.

Martin LeFevre

The post What’s Required To Defeat Trumpian Evil first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Haunted Jewelry Box

Legends of Gold

A shadow can be found beneath the precious metals from which we connect jewels, gemstones, shells and other treasures of the Earth. Jewelry is typically given for a special occasion to celebrate the romantic notions of love and luck. It can be presented as a gesture of commitment, a reward for hard work and even as a surprise ‘just because’ gift. 

One of the reasons that jewelry is a popular gift is because it is meant to be lasting and eternal. Of course the kind that tie up in strings, usually pay homage to the spiritual and popular symbolic traditions of our time- such as warding evil, making friendships and more. Jewelry has been given since ancient times as a token of the heart.

Gold itself was thought to be discovered in 3000 BC. It is the most popular choice for setting precious stones and other types of material into. Silver is the second most popular choice. The third in place is platinum. This is because certain metals hold a specific value to us- due to availability, cultural heritage and classic elegance. This itself is a symbol of the time of love- the age we are in right now. We use diamonds to represent the most highest divine partnerships as the most popular stone, second in place are emeralds. 

We also have birthstones- which were created by the jewelers themselves and meant to be lucky for those who wear them during this time. Jewels themselves have healing power, which most all can feel, upon their presentation in our honors. To give someone a birthstone gift is a gesture of destiny. The reason time is entwined so well within the notion, is because most clocks are associated with moments- turning, perhaps powered by a crystal spark- or most likely by the cosmos themselves.

Silver Moonlight

Bats fly out of the caves from where they were sleeping. They find their peace within the dark chambers- alone with the currents- both of the sky and beneath the ground, flowing in watery tombstones by a silent premonition. They wake, hungry to leave the dark nothing from which they dwell to fly beneath a silver moonlight, guided by desire.

Only I can feel them in my bones moving, as they take direction from a blood red sky- like the potion which stirs from my soul in an equally dark abyss of impulse, seduction and enchantment. When they return- their bellies will be full and their minds steadied.

The glowing lights shepherd them from town to town on perfect clouds of gray feldspar and black obsidian. They search for insects to devour- to fill their aching needs. Their fangs shimmer in the radiance of the night.

I realize that in the shadows, my memories haunt me as well-  as they resurrect the ghosts of my nightmares each time. Yet, I cannot stop fighting the demons which haunt me and drive me each day, as they scream in my mind to be fed and I will not resist them, although I have tried.

Eternal Gift

So, I collected a box to hide away my most beautiful thoughts. It’s a jewelry box, in which I store the only pieces of time which matter greatly to me. Some pieces of metal I have were owned by family members, given to me by past flames and also the crystals in each one- hold a memory inside, which respark and replay at the sight of them, like a hologram.

I have a key to lock or unlock it, because not only is in valuable in it’s own weight and glory, but also in the heart in which I hold onto it. When I have gotten tired or foolish, I lay it open and ghosts fly out of it- spooking me as I walk past. Trouble and circumstance has happened and now they can only bring negative energy, fueled on by this unhealthy attachment which I have to holding onto programmed pieces of metal- which have more significance as fashion than they should have over my life.

Once I realized this, I immediately cleaned out every ounce of space I had and sold all the remaining pieces. I made a lot of money from the endeavor and I also felt like a huge weight was lifted off of me. I had been saving items for the last twenty years- which had begun to rust, tarnish and fade. They would remind me of a person I had not seen in along time and bring me great sadness, so I let everything go…

Not to say that the mark they left on me isn’t still there. It remains in the designs of my veins and the eternal book of gifts that were ever given and received much like a .925 stamp, upheld in purity and honor. I learned not to wear Hematite- as I am very allergic to that metal. I put it on once and my whole hand turned purple in minutes and swelled up- it was poisoning my blood through my skin. This is an indicator of the magnificent power to heal that other stones and metals have that may be unrecognized by the general population.

Well I have stud earrings left, so my holes don’t close up- a string bracelet with a beaded design of the Greek key and a pair of bat earrings which make me laugh because they sit inside an empty jewelry box, released of ghosts and I can hear them screeching through the night- as they leave and come back with the sunlight.

Platinum Watch

There are also many pieces of jewelry which are very cursed and haunted which are well known. For example, the hope diamond is supposed to be responsible for a curse on a royal family. It is perhaps the most dangerous. The worst ones bring about murder and death.

I once had a 14k gold king tut necklace given to me by a stranger I had just met moments before, upon hearing it was my birthday. It disappeared the very next day. It must of had a spell upon it to mimic the curse that the mummy of king tut brings upon people who touch his tomb.

Crystals, metals and all the other jewels in the world can hold onto a lot of energy and can magnetize the atmosphere. Moonstone turns colors inside when it is about to storm. Opals have a beautiful fire inside which flashes with life during movement. They are of the Earth, they react with the Earth and they return their as well eventually.

There are gems which are in other dimensions and worlds that end up here. Some are from outer space and some are divine, like the story of a group of people who were praying all day to God to show them a sign and then rubies began to rain down from the ceiling. I myself have seen gold and silver tinsel falling before.

It’s all real, so therefore all the energy is so important. An item can drive you mad- such as a wedding ring if you begin to dislike someone. There’s even a river in Nevada where people throw away rings from old relationships in hope to be renewed and blessed.

I have found jewelry in the water before and kept it for a time and then given it away- as the memories begin to cause me anguish eventually of people who are ghosts- they are no longer there completely. Yet, I still hold happiness and hope to wear many beautiful necklaces, bracelets, headbands, body jewelry, bangles and rings. They can open up portals, which connect us to the divine easily and help us channel love. 

I have tattooed on myself an eternal bracelet now, – it has a large five pointed star to represent luck for me, as it is the star that I know the best. The chain is made of three sparkles and a blue French lily- to resemble the one from my family crest. It is meant to represent the heavens and my place on Earth. The meaning of my last name, is “crown, wreath or halo.”

Haunted Jewelry Box

Well, may good blessings continue to reign in our homes and hearts. May we find peace and love eternal within this span of light space. We are here for a reason, and definitely blessed. Celebrate yourself- your life and those that you love and give them memories which can last forever- in whichever way you choose.

I find that the world is a complex place, so it is best to follow your heart and intuition on matters of the spirit. Let hope guide you forward and remind you that we still have a long way to go in time before we have to leave these jewels behind and change into something else more comfortable.

By Deanna Jaxine Stinson aka Wish Fire
Halo Paranormal Investigations
www.cryptic916.com/
Sacramento Paranormal Help
www.facebook.com/HaloParanormalInvestigations/

The post Haunted Jewelry Box first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

How to Use Fishing Perfect Product Reviews?

If you are shopping for angling gear or you need to learn about the best fishing rods, you can find product reviews to help provide you with better shopping and learning experience. There are several things you want to know before getting out on a fishing trip. And it doesn’t matter whether you are out for sports or to hunt, one thing is sure, you will need the right set of tools. 

Many review websites cater to fishing-related discussions, and one of note is http://www.fishingperfect.com, so if you are in the market for fishing rods and want to learn about the best type of gear available, you surely want to check them out. 

Planning for a Fishing Trip

For pro anglers, every fishing trip goes beyond the quest for meat. The journey out to sea and the therapeutic nature of the open waters is something to look forward to. 

So if it happens, you are billed to go fishing soon, and you are not sure how to prepare, there are useful tips below to get you started. 

·       Get in the Mood

All that chilly wind out at sea can take a toll on you, and if you are not psyched about the trip, you could easily get overwhelmed by the weather. There is a warmth and surge in adrenaline levels that come with excitement, which could help you cope better out at sea. 

·       Sharpen your Angling Skills

It doesn’t matter if you have been on a trip before or not, you want to brush up on angling basics. You can find tutorial videos online to help bring you up to speed about the different gear and how to use them. There are equally good angling courses that go in detail to explain all the pro secrets about making it big on a hunting trip. And if this is what you are after, it could be worth it to invest in one. 

·       Get the Right Transport 

Of course, you will need to work out a boat for your expedition. It wouldn’t be an issue if you or your team own a vessel, but you would have to hire one if not. You can check the internet to find boats for hire in your area. You want to ensure you get one that can accommodate all the personnel and gear and is appropriate for your type of expedition. 

·       Get the Right Tools 

You also want to invest in quality equipment if you hope of coming back with any catch. Imagine going out unprepared only to lose a good game due to lack of proper angling tools, so you want to check with review sites and find the best ones out there. Some of the essential tools for angling you need to get include. 

–          Fishing Rod and Reels

You certainly can’t do without these. Except you intend to hunt for fish with a stick, you want to invest in quality rods and reels. They don’t cost much, and you can get a quality piece for less than 100 bucks. As a beginner, you don’t want to worry about customizing your rods, so you want to get the basic combo for an outing at sea. 

–          Lures and Baits 

You will need the right baits if you are going to get any fish out of the water. So you want to invest in the best lures, and baits for the type of game you intend catching. Get different styles so you can fine-tune your hunt. You can check this page for more on the best types of lures for fishing. 

–          Hooks 

You would need to get your bait onto a hook, and you want to get a lot of them. They are usually available in packs and different sizes, and it is best to get them in varieties. 

Getting your Fishing License 

You will need to get a license if you intend to fish in open public waters. You likely would get a permit but will also have to follow some restrictions. These could include no going past the coastlines or permitted fishing methods. In some places, it is wrong to go casting a net into the water for its wildlife. So you want to learn about all the things you are permitted to do and not. 

You have to be older than 16 to get a license before you can go angling. But it is relatively easy to buy one if you meet the requirements and as soon as you need one. The price would vary depending on the area and time of the year, but they are usually affordable. 

Safety Tips for your Fishing Trip

Now that you have everything you need to get ready to explore the seas, the next thing is to ensure all safety features are in place for your trip. Not too many people take this seriously, but many things can go wrong on a fishing expedition. And it is best to mitigate these occurrences. Some of the things you want to ensure you do right include 

·       Wear a Life Jacket 

They don’t cost much and are a must if you are getting on a boat. Even if you are a good swimmer, you still want to observe this precautionary measure. 

·       Keep the Boat Organized 

You want to avoid cramping up your boat space. Keeping the area neat makes it easier to find your gear when you need to. There are tips here https://www.discoverboating.com/resources/boat-storage-ideas-and-organization on how to organize your boat. 

·       Don’t Fish Alone 

It is best to go in the company of others when out at sea. You don’t want to be faced with a high tide alone or, worst, get lost at sea. So you want to buddy up and face the open waters together. 

Final Note 

You can learn a lot from product reviews when shopping for angling gear. You want to get the essential beginner gear, a fishing license, and the right transport when planning your trip. It is also vital that you get yourself ready mentally, and not forget to observe caution when out at sea. 

The post How to Use Fishing Perfect Product Reviews? first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

The World Is On Fire; Be Nothing, and Then Act

“The sole remaining superpower, the indispensible nation, and the leader of the free world,” which had already grown smaller than little England under Brexit, has suddenly become, at the death of a tiny, towering woman, even smaller.

Does the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which could not have come at a worse time, and proves that metaphysical factors are fully in play in our day, signal the end of what was best in America, or the beginning of spiritual and political recovery?

In other words, will the death of this extraordinary human being and Supreme Court Justice rouse the recovery of America’s soul, or is it an even greater loss of it?

There is no one, man or woman, who comes close to RBG’s stature at present and is building on her legacy. So sadly, the few Americans that are not coming from numbness on one hand or hope on the other, irrational hostility on one hand or wishful thinking on the other, have to face the fact that RBG’s death is an unrecoverable loss.

The size of an economy, or the strength of a military, does not determine the greatness of a people, but rather their capacity to hold the challengers of humanity in their hearts and minds, and act for the betterment of humanity.

Not that long ago, “the sun never set on the British Empire.” Those days, thankfully, belong to history, even as the aftereffects of colonialism continue to affect people and peoples, especially in Africa, in very negative ways.

In recent years, Great Britain has become Little England, surrendering to nativist and jingoistic impulses and arrogantly leaving, rather than effectively working to improve the European Union. So let Great Britain become Little England. The Scottish people will have their independence, and Ireland will at last be one people and one island.

As for the United States, the sun has set on the American Empire, whether the monstrous Trump and his cultish following, backed by the rump Republican Party, is defeated in November or not.

Joe Biden may be able to claw back some of the decency, fairness and concern for human rights that the United States formerly, if very imperfectly embodied. However history has moved beyond the American Empire as certainly as it did the British Empire after World War II.

Which brings us to the present, perilous moment. The post-World War II international order, as egregiously flawed as it was, held things together just enough to prevent a third world war, which, given the thousands of nuclear weapons the US and USSR accumulated, could have spelled the end of humankind.

Having defeated communism in Russia, it is beyond ironic that American propaganda has become so Stalinesque. The ‘deep state’ of the Trump

Administration and Fox News, with the complicity of Facebook and other Net amplifiers, firehose the American people daily with lies they call the truth, demanding patriotism as they methodically creep closer toward fascism every week.

George Bush Junior was malignantly prescient when we spoke of an “axis of evil” following the 9.11 attacks. The American cancer is spreading among the body politic of the Western nations, as right-wing extremists in London, Berlin and even Dublin echo antifa and QAnon conspiracies, scapegoating or blatantly inventing enemies for setting real or political wildfires.

Who and what will fill the vacuum of global leadership now that the United States has abdicated its role as leader of the free world? The Chinese Communist Party? Don’t make me laugh.

Will it take a political miracle to stop George Bush’s evilly prophetic international “axis of evil” from continuing to fill the void with predictably disastrous results? There is still time for good people to step up, though time is running very short.

The greatest peril, not just for America but also for the world, will come just before and after the election on November 4. Until this crisis passes, we are beyond the point of reconciliation in the USA. What is necessary is to prepare for the global disaster that many Americans, especially in the Pacific states, feel is coming with the dread of certainty and the certainty of dread.

We cannot wait to see what will happen in the United States. History has moved beyond America and the post-World War II international order. The last strut is about to be kicked out, and we have to begin to pour the foundation for a true global order, within and without, before the old order completely collapses.

Martin LeFevre

The post The World Is On Fire; Be Nothing, and Then Act first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Three Upcoming Paranormal Cases: My Thoughts

I thought things would slow down for HPI, since we are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.  But instead things are picking up.  We have three upcoming investigations and I am curious on what we will find.  Each one of these investigations, the clients are asking for a home cleansing.  My psychic medium wife Deanna Jaxine Stinson provides a metaphysical cleansing and I provide a Roman Catholic house blessing.  We have an 80 percent success rate with our cleansings.   Usually when a cleansing does not work, it’s because the client has fallen back to their old practices of playing with a Ouija Board, or someone they know that practices the dark arts is again around the family, bringing back the negative energy into the home.  In other cases, during the cleansing, the client may not believe in the protection from angels.  In our cleansings, we always call upon angels to protect the family and home.  The client must want the angels to protect them and demand that the negative entities of the home depart.  If the client has no faith, the cleansing is not going to work.
Below are the three upcoming investigations, let’s take a look at our upcoming cases.

PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION
Date to be there: August 22, 2020, Saturday / Time to be there: 6pm. Contact Person: Joy Doyle. Case Number:  B91K644C29018. Activity: There is a ghost in the attic. Joy lives in a home that was built in the 1950s. Her brother haunts the house, but that is okay, she wants to get rid of a ghost in the attic, that makes all kinds of noises and sounds, there is also the smell of pipe smoke and marijuana, she believes she knows who this ghost is and wants this ghost out. Address to be at: LAND PARK, Sacramento, CA

MY THOUGHTS:This should be an easy investigation.  We are dealing with an unwelcome ghost guest, not a demon.  We will conduct an investigation, to see if we can identify “The Ghost in the Attic” and then conduct our cleansing. 

PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION
Date to be there: August 29, 2020, Saturday / Time to be there: 6pm: Contact Information: Krissti / Case Number:  9C16Z761U9016  / Activity – Email Message from client: “I think I’m haunted and have been since I was 6. Started with hearing what sounded like my mom, sometimes my dad, calling out my name. Thought it was just in my head until my friends heard it, too. Electronics and battery operated toys would turn on by themselves. Items go missing only to reappear where they were left or in a different place entirely. This also happens to people that live with me. It wasn’t until my family moved to Penryn in October 2010 did things change. The main house, built in 1928, is on top of the foundation of a house that burned down in 1901. The barn was built in 1886, and “the cottage” as we call it, was built somewhere between that. The property has been in continuous use since the 1860s as part of Griffith Quarry. The first thing I noticed were the ghost cats. The other stuff, though, is kinda creepy. My radio went from playing Air1, a Christian station, to going to static and then to something evil sounding. It wasn’t quite music, but it was in Latin. The downstairs ceiling fan turns on at night sometimes, so does the a/c and heat on occasion. There’s also episodes of unexplained sounds and thuds that happen. On very rare occasions, things have become physical. I’ve had an ice cold hand firmly run down my leg. Last December, I was pushed with enough force to make me stumble. Then, last week, I saw my cat nearly pushed off the bed. I’ve tried ignoring these things, praying, telling “it” to stop and go away. I don’t know what it is, if it’s something different from when I was a child, or how to get rid it. Is this something that your group can help me with? Address to be at: Penryn, CA  PS:
I don’t know if this matters, but when I was an infant, my eldest sister was getting into all sorts of bad things- witchcraft, drugs, ect, and my mom has said that strange things happened during that time. Like my grandfather’s missing heart pills falling from the ceiling. I have autism and I have sorta died on the operating table.

MY THOUGHTS:This is going to be an exciting case.  The client lives near the Griffith Rock Quarry.  HPI has investigated this quarry and it’s very haunted.  Many miners were injured or lost their lives going after the quartz at this quarry.  I do believe the elder sister playing around with the dark arts and drugs may have a big influence to why this place is haunted.  Possibly a portal has opened up at this home and other type of entities have now invaded this home, not to mention the nearby ghosts from the quarry.  Penryn is filled with history.  There is a lot of land surrounding this house, so HPI has a lot to investigate.  This should be a very interesting case.

PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION
Date to be there: September 5, Saturday / Time to be there: 6pm: Contact Person: Casey / Case Number: 9Y16L58N6158P7. Address to be at: Rocklin, CA. Activity: They have their own EVPs. They have heard a child laughing, loud pounding on the walls, blinds move on their own, massive fireball came out of the wall and flew around the house.

MY THOUGHTS Doing a bit of research, the home in Rocklin is also near the Griffith Rock Quarry.  Rocklin and Penryn are two towns very close to each other.  I am real curious about this fireball that came out of the wall.  Is this something like ball lightning?  What could have possibly created this fireball?  Is the fireball some type of entity?  Did the fireball have intelligent movement? I look forward to encountering “The Fireball Entity of Rocklin”.  HPI has its work cut out for us!  Stay tuned to see the results! 

By Paul Dale Roberts, HPI’s Esoteric Detective
Halo Paranormal Investigations
www.cryptic916.com/
Sacramento Paranormal Help
www.facebook.com/HaloParanormalInvestigations/
Email: jazmaonline@gmail.com
Sacramento Paranormal Haunted Hotline: 916 203 7503

The post Three Upcoming Paranormal Cases: My Thoughts first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Cartago Bringing New Jobs to Costa Rica

The Mayor of Cartago brings good news to the people of the province. They will benefit from 877 new jobs brought to the province between the end of this year and 2021. These positions will be at Edwards Lifesciences.

The American multinational company manufactures components of heart valves in the Lima free zone of Costa Rica. It works in the field of precision and medical equipment. The company will create 287 new positions this year and another 590 next year.

The company opened its plant in 2016. Last year, it opened a second plant in the country. Along with that, came the announcement, in December, 2019, that, by the end of 2020, the payroll would increase from 630 to 1,100.

Those interested in the positions must have graduated 9th grade and have high manual skills. They must be able to perform careful processes as each heart valve contains over 1,000 sutures made by hand.

The post Cartago Bringing New Jobs to Costa Rica first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Costa Rica Hydroelectric Plant Contract Annulled

The Comptroller’s Office ordered ICE and Jasec to annul a hydroelectric contract from 2011 worth millions. The plant was inaugurated in 2013. It had a cost of $188 million.

Without competition, a company founded by five former ICE officials was chosen to be the executing unit of the Toro III hydroelectric plant, in Marseille of Venice, San Carlos. It already received $4.4 million towards the project.

The firm is called Consultores en Infraestructura GIP Ltda. It was founded, in 2005, by former ICE officials, Julieta Bejarano, José Miguel Mena, Marco Jara, Álvaro Barrantes and Yury Briceño, who wanted to offer services for electrical infrastructure projects.

GIP will earn $60,000 per month during the pro-operational stage and $30,000 per month during the operational stage until June 2028.

The post Costa Rica Hydroelectric Plant Contract Annulled first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

The Earth Is Mirroring Man

A breeze flowed into the interior of California from the Pacific this morning, brightening the day and even allowing a bit of blue sky for only the second time in a month. And for the first time in a moon you can actually see the stars tonight!

Whether winds will pick up and fan more devastating conflagrations remains to be seen, but for a moment there is respite, and peace. If we can’t seize the day, we must seize the moment.

It was the grimmest meditation at streamside in 25 years of living here. The leaves around me were coated with a layer of ash. Spider webs were completely clogged with airborne debris. The air smelled not so much of smoke as traces of chemicals.

The creek is still flowing however, and I sat, masked against the toxic ashes wafting down in the breeze, for an hour and half. Nothing could keep out the toxic metaphysical atmosphere though.

For an hour there, I felt a palpable sorrow–not just personal sorrow, but a collective sorrow, into which my personal sorrow merged and was superseded. Even the sorrow of people killed in the nearby town of Berry Creek felt like an intense, but diffuse sorrow.

Collective sorrow’s source is the personal dimension, the unaddressed and accumulating hurt, grief and suffering of countless selves, which is dispersed in human consciousness, and makes the human condition one of sorrow.

The world is a terrible place, and the Earth is mirroring the sorrow of man. It isn’t just that the mechanisms of the Earth’s ecological systems are under dire stress from man’s runaway fragmentation of ‘the environment.’ Rather, nature is reflecting, to anyone who can still see and feel, how woefully destructive we are as a species.

Removing a racist statue or halting a pipeline is not going to stop the juggernaut of man’s destructiveness. That isn’t change at all, except to those on the progressive side of America’s chasm of competing narratives.

We need to turn inward in a true way. Turning within doesn’t mean hiding out from bad news. The primacy of the inner life sounds solipsistic to those who don’t have one, just as passion is equated with outrage to the superficially minded.

So what is change, and what would actually change things? Certainly not the application of the American work ethic, or commitment to some cause.

Just as sound flows from silence, right action flows from complete inaction.

Why did I sit amidst the ashes for so long today? Why did I let myself feel collective sorrow?

Because the Earth is mirroring the sorrow of man, and I was curious about it. Because to turn away from what is, into the escapes of entertainment or activism, only generates more conflagrations, literally and metaphorically.

For an hour, the passive observation, though it gathered undirected attention, did not penetrate beneath and beyond collective sorrow. But when I asked why, and left the question, I found on leaving that sorrow had been left behind, and at least temporarily had been transmuted into clarity and compassion.

The universe, which is synonymous with the cosmic mind, knows no sorrow.  When the separate self completely ceases to operate, then the heart and mind participate in the state of meditation of the universe.

If you live in the fire ravaged western states, or the flood ravaged southern states, you realize at visceral level that the Earth is reflecting man’s fragmentation and sorrow back to us.  

Facing and remaining with personal and collective sorrow, it’s transformed within us. That is true change. The rest is merely chasing bubbles on the surface of the cauldron that is this world.

Martin LeFevre

The post The Earth Is Mirroring Man first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Which Kind of Apocalypse?

It’s often been said that what begins in California spreads to the rest of the country, and the world. God help us if that’s still the case, because it feels like we are experiencing the leading edge of the apocalypse here.

Then again, the root meaning of word apocalypse, from the Greek, is “revelation…an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling.”

So which sense of apocalypse is it, “the complete final destruction of the world,” as described in the biblical book of Revelation, or a true revelation, an unveiling and unfolding of things not previously known?

Perhaps that depends on the few who still care, and whether they can step into the breech.

Speaking of vacuums, I’m not the only one that feels this QAnon craziness, which threatens to take over the defunct Republican Party, if not collapsed Western civilization, has become, as a philosopher friend puts it, “not fringe at all but the ideology of Trump’s base?”

Facts and evidence, much less truth, don’t matter, or don’t even exist. Are we near the end of this experiment to see how far the mentality that believes truth is what the Great Leader says it is, or can it be pushed further without things completely breaking down?

The question is, will decent and rational people wait to find out? We cannot, since waiting invites a complete breakdown.

The mainstream media keeps chasing its tail by assuming that enough evidence, enough facts, enough revelation of what one columnist calls the “incompetence-meets-evil that we have suffered under the Trump administration” will bring decency and rationality back to American life.

The problem is, you can only bring something back to life if it isn’t actually dead. And as I’ve said ad nauseum in this column, the American people as a people are dead, and have been for over a generation.

So please pundits, stop beating a dead horse and prattling on about “an immense summoning of American character and will.” Let’s acknowledge the death so there can be a new birth.

There is a deeper phenomenon occurring than the full flowering of American darkness and dysfunction. The more apocalyptic the atmosphere becomes, literally and metaphorically, the greater the flight from reality in human consciousness generally.

What is it about human nature that makes denial the first and lasting reaction to an implacable reality like the climate catastrophe? Are the three Pacific states on fire not enough?

Two phenomena appear to be directly linked. On one hand, lacking an accurate metaphysical explanation, by which I mean a comprehensive and coherent explanation for the darkness and madness that human consciousness has become, more and more people are filling the void with all manner of crazy shit. Hence QAnon.

On the other hand, continuing to believe that “this moment in history is not an aberration,” but we’ve been here many times before, provides a comforting balm before the bomb, or whatever event looms on the horizon.

Even if one can give a coherent and compelling explanation for what is happening in consciousness and the world however, explanation is inherently inadequate. It’s necessary but not sufficient. What is sufficient?

Explanation has a place, just not first place. An accurate explanation for a phenomenon is the formulation of insight into it, which tends to become codified as knowledge. Is there explanation that doesn’t do so, that is open-ended, and indeed, that ignites insight?

I feel so, or I wouldn’t write. However it’s important to dispel some shibboleths. The first, which is all but gone, is “believing in a slow, frustrating but ultimately sustainable victory and all the jubilation that would come along with it.”

It’s essential to stop externalizing what first has an inward source. The wildfires in California and Oregon, and the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, much less the Trumpian nightmare and its equivalents around the world, are outward manifestations of the intensifying crisis of human consciousness.

Therefore the biggest shibboleth remains that “we need the bonds of political solidarity and collective action if there is any chance of alleviating the darkness of this era.”

In other words, we are collective creatures first and last, come hell or high water (and both hell and high water keep coming).

The writer goes even further, and makes such misguidedness explicit: “I can lift myself out of my misery by remembering that I’m part of a collective.”

There is no such thing as collective intelligence and wisdom, only collective darkness and evil. True individuals—undivided human beings—first stand alone. Only then can stand together.

Martin LeFevre

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/opinion/trump-biden-2020-depression.html

The post Which Kind of Apocalypse? first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Spiritually Cleansing Your Home

I have been a demonologist / ghost hunter for many years now.  I have been on over 2000 cases.  I have had many ghost hunting groups turn over a demonic case to me, because they couldn’t handle it.  My nickname is the Demon Warrior.  I take on any demonic case that is thrown my way.  When I take on a demonic case, the first thing I do is have my team investigate.  We try to collect evidence and if we do collect evidence, we present it to the client right on the spot.  We do not take days or weeks to provide the evidence.  With EVPs,we do “quick and dirty” sessions.  We say something simple like…”is there anyone here?”  We pause, to give the entity time to speak and then we play the recording back.  Sometimes the entity will speak during the time we are recording, while we are waiting for the entity’s reply.  We try and capture any kind of anomaly on our cameras.  When seeing orbs, they can almost be anything, such as dust, lint, skin flakes, light refractions, dew drop particles, etc.  What we try to do, is show intelligent movement.  I will place my hand on the wall and tell the orb to appear by my hand.  With possibly 3 cameras, I have my investigators take a picture of my hand and at times I will have an orb located on my hand, showing intelligent movement.  This would be something that I can deem as paranormal.

CASE EXAMPLE OF ORB SHOWING INTELLIGENT MOVEMENT

I had an investigator who felt that “Emily” (an entity) was draining him and he had to sit down.  I asked Emily if she liked the investigator, and if she did, I asked her if she would mind going over and kiss the investigator on his lips.  I had 3 investigators with 3 cameras take a picture of the investigator that Emily liked.  When looking at the photos, we captured an orb on his mouth.  Emily was kissing him!  We told Emily to sit on his lap and our next photos showed an orb hovering over his lap.  This showed intelligent movement and it was something I could deem as “paranormal”.  Sometimes we capture “designer orbs” in our photos and when we enhance the designer orb photo, we will see a face inside the designer orb. 

CASE EXAMPLE OF DESIGNER ORB SHOWING RECOGNIZABLE FACES

During a case in Del Paso Heights in Sacramento, CA, I took a photo in the backyard of the place where we were investigating. I noticed I caught a picture of two designer orbs.  Note: Designer orbs usually have intricate designs inside of them, almost like a snowflake.  I enhanced the photo showing the designer orbs and noticed that in both designer orbs, it appeared that there were two faces of dogs.  I asked the client what she had in her backyard and she said “orange trees”.  I said…”what else?”  She said that her two previous dogs were buried back there.  I asked her to look at the photos of the designer orbs and she started crying.  I asked her what was she crying about?  She pointed to the designer orbs and said…”those are my two dogs.”    Something like that, I can deem as paranormal.

FULL SUBMERSION BAPTISM

Now, let’s start talking about cleansing. I also conduct full submersion baptisms.  If our client says that he or she has an attachment, usually a demonic attachment, a basic form of exorcism is a full submersion baptism.  If the client has an attachment, the attachment will immediately leave.  We will usually conduct the baptism in the client’s bathtub or pool, if they have a pool.  Deanna Jaxine Stinson, Psychic Medium and myself will pray over the water and throw in some holy water, blessing the water.  I usually have my cross with me, to dip into the blessed water. The baptism is usually quick and painless.  I will grab one leg, have them hold their nose, say a protection prayer and then dip them into the water.  I will make the sign of the cross or have my cross with me, to place on their forehead.  After the baptism, my clients feel relieved and 99 percent of them, will say the attachment is gone.

ROMAN CATHOLIC HOUSE BLESSING

When I conduct a Roman Catholic House Blessing, I have two things, my trusty cross and holy water.  I learned the method that I use, from a Catholic priest in the Southern States.  He would sit there smoking cigarettes and explaining to me how I can bless a home.  I never knew I would become a paranormal investigator and that some day I will use this information.  He told me that all religions believe in angels, or protective supernatural entities and that if I go into a home, where they don’t believe in God, then call upon angels to help.  I will usually start from the back of the house and ask for God’s angels to watch over this home, to watch and protect the family, the family’s friends and outside family members and also the family’s pets.  I will ask the angels to close any portal in the house, I will ask the angels to throw out any entities in this house.  I will ask the client…”do you want them here?”  The client will say…”NO!  I do not want them here, you must leave!!”  I will conduct a four winds prayer, sending the prayer into the four winds, covering everything.  If there is something I possibly missed, I will conduct a four winds prayer to assure that everything is protected and cleansed.  I will go through the house with the client, blessing every room and pressing the cross I carry on the inside and outside of each room and constantly asking the client…”do you want them here” and they answer…”NO!  I want them to leave!”  As we get to front door, I conduct another four winds prayer and afterwards place the cross on the client’s forehead and ask them if they accept Jesus as their lord and savior.  The client says “yes” and I give them a warm embrace.  The cleansing is complete.

METAPHYSICAL CLEANSING

If the client is not religious, Catholic or Christian, that is when Deanna Jaxine Stinson steps in.  Deanna is a Psychic Medium and will conduct a metaphysical cleansing using smudging wands, incense, candles and lots of prayers.  She will go into each room with her smudging and prayers.  Her smudge wands are made of very many mystical properties from various plants and herbs, such as sage, cherry, lemon, eucalyptus, oak, pine, walnut, fig, deer grass, etc.  Many people know that sage works in smudging wands, but did they know that other plant types and herbs work in smudge wands?  Each plant and herb has it’s only mystical properties.  Deanna uses cinnamon sticks, crystals, various minerals, palo santo wood and many other metaphysical items.

CONGREGATION HOUSE CLEANSING

If my Roman Catholic house blessing doesn’t work, then it’s time to take things to a new level.  Go to your local church and ask the preacher or pastor, if you can have the church congregation come to your home.  If you can get a church congregation to your home, have the congregation walk through your home singing spiritual songs and saying prayers.  This will bring so much positive energy into the house, that anything negative will automatically leave.

SELF BLESSING OF A HOME

If you don’t want a whole congregation walking through your house and putting shoe mud on your carpet, then you can self bless your home.  Go to your local dollar tree store and purchase some angel figurines.  Take these angel figurines and dip them into holy water and say a protection prayer to each angel.  The prayer should be as simple as this….”I ask God to protect me through this angel”.  Place the angel figurines around all openings of your home, like windows and doorways.  After you have did this, step in the middle of your house and say a loud and meaningful protection prayer and ask God and his angels to protect you through the angel figurines around the house.  Ask the angels to close any portal in your home and vanquish any negative energy or spirits from your home!

HEDGE OF PROTECTION PRAYER

When you complete an investigation and if some of the investigators feel unsafe, conduct a “hedge-of-protection” prayer, by holding hands and standing in a circle, allowing the conductor of the prayer to spray holy water on everyone participating in the protection prayer.

By Paul Dale Roberts, HPI’s Esoteric Detective
Halo Paranormal Investigations
www.cryptic916.com/
Sacramento Paranormal Help
www.facebook.com/HaloParanormalInvestigations/

The post Spiritually Cleansing Your Home first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Space Charm: 7 Lucky Signs from Outer Space

At night, we can see the beauty of outer space clearly. the darkness shadows the sun and the other side of time is illuminated. From where we are positioned, we will see separate parts of the sky than the rest of the world. It changes too, every moment that we exist- as the universe shifts in continuous motion. This makes us lucky to be alive and see what we can, apart from everyone else. It makes us connected to the divine in special ways.

There are celestial objects that we can map and chart- such as the North star always being in the North, but there are many different rare occurrences and phenomenon that are so hard to glimpse, that we can consider them to be supernatural and otherworldly. We connect spiritually with certain aspects in the sky, as we have relied on them for physical and spiritual navigation for centuries.

Strange tales and myths speak of apparitions appearing in the sky that would signal major events- such as the end times of the Earth, or major natural disasters that would occur. Some have turned to astrology to gain control over the circumstance, but forecasting deep into the future will show you that things will always be changing- new groups of people will witness different celestial events, be born under different stars and constellations and therefore, they will come to different conclusions on the spiritual philosophies and principals of the Earth.

1. Shooting Stars
Lucifer, the angel of light, was said to be cast out of Heaven and cast upon the ground like a star falling from the highest of Heavens. His glowing was so bright, until he eventually reached the Earth and became darkness and shadow. He becomes Satan here, controlling the kingdoms of Hell and the immoral realms of society and humankind. He rules from the blackest of hearts and places- much like a magic hold of magnetism from a once electrified star shooting by.

He is known as the king of desires and sin. His image has long been associated with stars, specifically- the upside down one, signalling the downfall from the skies above. Perhaps this gives reason to the purpose we have in wishing on shooting stars. Because, for many thousands of years it has been widely known to cast ones desires upon a lucky star as it glides by and wait to see if the wishes come true.

2. The Moon
Many people look up at the moon and make wishes upon it- especially ones regarding love. This is because it feels as the moon is there, following us as we go alone in the world. It has such a brightness and divinity, that it is hard to imagine how it is so close to everyone. When we look up at the moon- we understand that those we love are also looking at it too and wondering about us.

The moon represents the subconscious and all of our secrets and dreams. At night, while we sleep- our minds come to life and our desires come to play under the moonlight. This is the time where we get to know our most inner parts and our true natures. We can manifest our dreams & desires very easily from this place.

3. The North Star
The North Star is known to be the guidance that we seek when we are lost. The North Star will always remain in the North- the highest place of existence. This makes it the best place to look when we wish to be found, or find a place or thing yourself. It signifies adventure and promise.
Reaching out to this star with our mind and psychically connecting to it will help us feel safe and protected. The North Star is a powerful spiritual guide that can help us to navigate our directions in life- spiritually as well as physically.

4.The Northern Lights
The Northern Lights are a beautiful display of color made against the night sky. It is a haunting phenomenon that occurs in certain very cold places mostly. They are like ghosts of color playing and dancing in the glittering snow.
Those who see the Northern Lights are often blessed for life. They feel a certain special connection with the sky and Heavens, which lasts a lifetime. It is a very memorable event, and many people will travel extensive miles in order to be under them.

5. Halley’s Comet
The magic of Halley’s comet is that it can be found in many legends throughout history. It is widely known because it is visible to the naked eye- unlike a lot of other comets. Sometimes, it is made to foretell heroic battles and even was thought to be arisen during the birth of Jesus. Mark Twain, the famous author himself, was born with the comet in the sky overhead. The tale is that if it is in the sky when you are born, when it comes back around after approximately 75-6 years- give or take some months- you will die.
Cult’s have even been formed in the name of this comet and people committed suicide feeling that the comet was actually a spaceship that could take them to an alien place- where they could finally feel at home and be accepted. It is a strange, tragic and mysterious omen. In this case, it can be therefore considered lucky & unlucky for some others.

6. Night Rainbow
It is very common to see rainbow’s during the day- as the sun brings warmth and energy to ice clouds and different dust particles in the sky. Due to the nature of rainbows, they are easier to spot during the daytime. However, there are some which form at night.
The moon bow is seen when a cloud of ice forms around the moon. This is a symbol of good luck, in terms of the weather and also spiritually. It can symbolize seeing the beauty of your shadow side, the grace of darkness and death, and also mean to have hope that your dreams are coming true.

7. Orion’s Belt
Orion’s belt is considered lucky because it is one of the easiest constellations to spot in the sky. It is the one that most people can remember the best- as it is three stars tied as a belt and sword around the supernatural hunter Orion.
It can also be known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters. It is symbolized as an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. These stars can be prayed to for spiritual power and peace.

It brings people close together that want to have a spiritual experience underneath the stars and also the light contains information which is easily recorded in our brains. If you spot Orion’s belt, you know that a powerful protector is on your side.

Space Charm: 7 Lucky Signs from Outer Space

In conclusion, the universe is a vast expanse of space, yet it is decorated with the jewels of our time- which will forever be cherished by humankind. These are the cosmic treasures, which the God’s share with us- in our hearts, eyes, minds and soul. They will forever live as a fountain of Heaven from which our spirits will drink and we will be given love and light eternal. Metal links form around the hands of God, circularly- likewise holding seven charms on a bracelet, reaching out to us- each one guiding us forward with inspiration and beauty.

Give our hearts over to the glory of God and the skies and the Heavens and let the enchanting jewelry of the night charm and bless you with a great immortal power- which burns on forever in the same skies that were looked upon with delight and passion, by our ancestors, our gods and our people. Please know that we are all one in this light together and we are safe and protected from harm by our beautiful sun and moon, and all the celestial powers of life- which hold us together in their arms and fingers- pushing us, nurturing us and eventually burying us in the gardens of the Earth.

By Deanna Jaxine Stinson aka Wish Fire
Halo Paranormal Investigations
www.cryptic916.com/
Sacramento Paranormal Help
www.facebook.com/HaloParanormalInvestigations/

The post Space Charm: 7 Lucky Signs from Outer Space first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Bridging the Epistemic Divide

Of late I often begin a political conversation with liberal friends and acquaintances by asking, “Have you heard the phrase, ‘Own the Libs?” Invariably they haven’t, even though Donald Trump Junior literally wrote the book on it, called “Triggered.”

“Own the Libs“ means deliberately triggering reactions in liberals, enabling Trumpers to “own” them, so they don’t have to own their own stuff at all.  It is a diabolical psychological device designed to allow the Trumpian projector to justify his or her darkness by getting hated liberals to react first.

Obviously only rotten people play such a trick. One has to have lost all human decency to deliberately provoke the flaws and weaknesses in another in order to avoid greater flaws and weaknesses in oneself.

I’ve directly experienced this tactic. When I politely asked the neighbor and teacher in back to stop her huge Labrador from barking one day as I was working in the backyard and she was on her patio, she said, “You’re the problem.”

After a week of being awakened at dawn with the loudest barking I’ve ever heard, I opened the blinds one morning to see the father of her two young children waiting to give me the finger.

I went for a bike ride, as I often do in the morning, and drove down their street. The fellow was sitting on the step. “ We knew you’d be here,” he said before I even stopped and uttered a word.

“What is this, some kind of Trumpian ‘Own the Libs’ shit?” I asked.

“Exactly,” came the immediate reply, “you’re more than liberal.”

Then, in a hate-filled voice, this father of two young children became unhinged and said: “I’m going to kill you and do 50 years in prison.”

Confronted with such a threat, my nervousness instantly ended. This cannot stand, I felt more than thought. Something rose within me, not reaction and anger, much less violence, but the energy of perceiving a danger and responding to it with every fiber of my being.

“We’re not children,” I said to the man-child half my age, who began pacing up and down his driveway. “We don’t have to like each other. But we’re neighbors, and we’re not going to hate each other. What’s your name?”

At first he refused to tell me his name or shake my hand. (This was just before the pandemic.) But then, after calling himself “Studmuffin” (he’s at least five years younger than the woman that lived there for some years before importing him), he thought he’d try the knuckle-squeezing trick.

Foreseeing it, I fully gripped his hand. Thinking he’d still out-squeeze me, he kept amping up the pressure. But I squeeze a tennis ball every night due to a bit of arthritis, and knew there was no way he could out-squeeze my grip.  

Every time he tried, I squeezed a bit harder, though not out of competition or domination.  I felt an energy pouring through my arm that seemed to come from beyond me. It was like an electrical current, and it was dissolving his hatred.

He backed off, and we talked. “If I met you in a bar, I’d probably like you,” he said, as I parted.

What just happened, I wondered as I rode home? I didn’t dissipate the Trumper’s hatred; something within and beyond me that I have no control over did.

So-called Christians who support Trump and the  ‘Own the Libs’ tactic make a mockery of Jesus’ injunction: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

This is the difference between rump Republicans that have become the Party of Trump, and naïve Democrats who see Biden as a rescuer who will return America to decency, rationality and normalcy.

“There is no conversation that can build a translation bridge connecting this epistemic divide,” two “scholars on conspiracism” write. (Epistemic refers to basic questions about knowledge.) “There can be no argument or negotiation or compromise — all of which require some shared terrain of facts and a shared horizon of what it means to know something.”

Cue the philosophers. Oh, I forgot, there’s no need for philosophy, and “everyone is a philosopher.” And there is no such thing as truth when there’s only ‘my truth’ and ‘your truth.’

This metaphysical vacuum is what has given rise to fantastical conspiracy theories. There are real conspiracies of course, but the absence of investigation and examination of evidence, indeed eschewing even the need for investigation and examination, characterizes crazy, cultish phenomena like Qanon.

People on both the right and left sense the movement of unseen evils in human consciousness, but rather than look within to find their origin and nature, they externalize and formulate fantastical theories.

Even when they know that they are just spinning imaginary webs and connecting imaginary dots, the act of doing so temporarily satisfies their hunger for explanation, much less understanding.

“First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Martin LeFevre

The post Bridging the Epistemic Divide first appeared on The Costa Rican Times.

Why Is Everything Whole and Holy Except Man?

The smartest animal on the planet other than humans is the Orca, otherwise known as Killer Whales. They aren’t whales at all, and the ‘killer’ adjective is species projection. Orcas belong to the same family as porpoises, which they hunt and kill, but that doesn’t make them like us.

Different “cultures” of Orcas hunt porpoises, as well as sharks (including Great Whites), seals and manta rays…but never humans. There has been no instance of an Orca killing a human in the wild, but they have murdered a few in captivity. Yes, planned, premeditated murder, like humans do, after being confined for years in fishbowls for entertainment.

It’s said Orcas seem to understand humans, perhaps recognizing us as the top predator on Earth, as they are of the sea. A scientist that has studied Orcas calls them “the fiercest and smartest predator that the Earth has ever seen.” Except man of course. Orcas are also, like humans, one of the few animals that share food with members of their group, whether they are directly related or not.

Dolphins have shown what anthropologists call self-awareness—the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror as individuals. Are Orcas, who are much smarter, self-knowing?

If so, they are more intelligent than the vast majority of humans, who are acutely aware of themselves as individuals, but unaware of what is actually going on within themselves emotionally, cognitively and physically at any given moment.

Like self-awareness and self-knowing, intelligence and smarts are two different things. This distinction, between self-aware and self-knowing, is a crucial one if Homo sapiens is to grow into beings worthy of the name we’ve given ourselves (‘wise humans’).

The term self-aware is often used synonymously with being mindful, but anthropologically, it simply refers to a threshold of cognitive ability permitting self-recognition. Familiarize a chimpanzee and a gorilla with a mirror, then paint (carefully!) a circle on their heads with dye, and most chimps will immediately recognize a difference, while most gorillas don’t. Orcas always do. Passing this “mirror self-recognition test” is what anthropologists refer to as “self-awareness.”

Chimp or human, our sense of self is a social construct, whereas self-knowing only happens in the mirror of relationship, with nature and other people, by being inwardly alone. So is self-knowing the same thing as mindfulness, which is all the rage?

Not quite. One can be mindful without being self-knowing, but one cannot be self-knowing without being mindful.

So what is mindfulness, and what is self-knowing? Mindfulness is defined as “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

“Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)” is sold as “the gold standard in mindfulness training, created by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts in 1979.” Through this “simple and powerful methodology” one learns how to “cultivate self-awareness, respond rather than react to stress, and change habitual reactivity patterns.”

“No prior meditation experience is required—great for beginners and advanced meditators alike.” Flipped out Orcas and humans sign up today. Sliding scale makes this valuable training available to as many people and animals as possible.

Seriously, this experiment in “the most scientifically researched mindfulness program” has been run for over 40 years. How’s that worked out in America? A quarter of women in their 40’s and 50’s take anti-depressants, and there has been nearly a five-fold increase in anti-depressant use in this country among teens and adults.

The strategy of teaching methods of mindfulness and meditation for stress reduction clearly hasn’t worked, since even before the pandemic people were vastly more ‘stressed out’ than they were 40 years ago.

Indeed, the terms mindfulness and meditation have become so debased through their marketing and monetization that I wonder if they have any meaning at all.

Returning to our fellow predators of the sea, the ‘Killer Whales’ said to understand humans, perhaps we can reflect more deeply and learn something about ourselves, and our ill-fitting place in nature, from them.

Certainly not by putting them in captivity and conditioning them to perform like circus animals.

Whether Orcas are self-knowing or not, can we gain insight into ourselves, rather than using systems like MBSR in a futile attempt to reduce our stress and help us adapt to man’s polluted seas?

Martin LeFevre

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